Fight or flight
by bittie752
Summary: AU after I'll be Seeing You. Jo had always chosen fight over flight, that is until she threw an engagment ring at him and put the time traveling 5 in danger. I bumped this to an M for chapter 6
1. Chapter 1

This is set after season 4.0 finale. It is OOC for Jo. I am a little frustrated that the fear they had last season about being caught and sanctioned is now treated as a moot point. Standard disclaimer Eureka is not mine, I'm not making any money off of it, just messing around.

Jo was in a panic as she fled the Sheriff's office. What had she done? She screwed up and bad. Zane had major pieces to the puzzle and it wouldn't take him long to click everything into place. Vomit was rising in her throat. Sanctions, the word kept running through her head. The more people who knew the more likely they were to get caught.

Dammit, what if he and Zoe were putting their heads together about this right now. What if Carter's visit to Harvard or Jo's strange behavior or the problems between Henry and Grace were the key in the puzzle Zane was trying to solve. If they figured it out and didn't go to the DOD they could be sanctioned too.

Arriving at SARAH, Jo launched into the bunker like a mad women. Heading straight for the bathroom the nausea took over. Thank god Carter was at Allison's and SARAH was off line for the night. Jo really didn't want to explain what was going on right now.

First she had thrown the engagement ring at him and then she kissed him. _"Then how come this didn't feel like a first kiss?"_

Damn him! Why did he have to realize that? Why did she have to react the way she did?

Leaving the bathroom Jo went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. She sat at the island in the kitchen staring into space. If she left maybe it would stop the questions he had. Maybe he would let it go. It would be tricky getting out of town before anyone noticed. Luckily she had very few personal belongings thanks to Larry and his rocket. But the fake ids they had created as plan B were locked in the bank vault and the bank didn't open until 7am.

Jo took a deep breath to steady herself and had just started to formulate a plan when the door to the bunker opened and in walked Zoe and the current source of all Jo's problems, Zane.

"Hey Jo," Zoe greeted happily "I was hoping you were still up. Do you want to hang out with us for a while, watch a movie? I'll make popcorn."

Making a point not to look at Zane, Jo shook her head. "No thanks Zo I have an early day tomorrow and I need to get some sleep."

"That sucks. I feel like I've barely seen you this trip." Zoe's phone rang and looking at it quickly she said "I really need to take this Jo. Can you stay up just a little while I want to talk to you about something?"

"Sure" Jo responded and Zoe smiled and slipped off to the kitchen to answer her phone. Jo kept her back to Zane not wanting to turn and face him.

"I need answers Jo and I won't stop until you give them to me." It wasn't a question, and there was no anger just confusion and a need for her to tell him everything.

Jo sighed and turned to face him. She crossed her arms over her chest and made sure there was a big gap between them. "Honestly I would love to tell you everything, but I can't. It's not my call."

"Not your call? What the hell is that supposed to mean? You had my grandmother's ring and you were wearing it around your neck? I never thought you were a coward Lupo but you are just too afraid to tell me."

"Afraid?" she spit back. "Damn right I'm afraid. Do you know what sanctions are? It's where you are locked away in solitary for the rest of your life. You're taken away from your family, your friends. You lose everything. So call me a coward if you must but the more people who know what happened the more likely it is that sanctions will happen. And I will not let Jenna and Kevin lose Allison and I will not let Zoe lose Carter. You and your questions be damned"

Zane was shocked this was not what he had expected. What had they done that could get them sanctioned? He opened his mouth to ask another question and Zoe walked in.

"I can't leave you two alone for 5 minutes without you getting into a fight huh? Anyway Jo, next weekend you, me, Portland, shopping, spa day, maybe a new tattoo?"

"Sounds great, now I really need to get to bed." Jo leaned into hug Zoe. "Good night." Jo turned and retreated up the stairs. Resolved in what had to happen now. _I won't stop until you tell me. _Fine, then she would go and maybe that would stop him or at least give the others time to get away before Zane Donovan and his questions raised too many flags with the DOD.

Zoe watched her retreat. "Strange, she's been so distant lately."

Zane scoffed "How can you tell?"

"Stop" Zoe looked Zane straight in the face. "I know you two are like oil and water but Jo is one of my best friends, practically my sister and under that tough exterior she has the biggest heart. So I know that something must be really bothering her."

Zane looked down and mumbled "Sorry. Look can we rain check the celebration? I have a project I really need to work on."

"Sure, soon though." Zoe leaned in to kiss him but Zane turned so she caught his cheek.

"Night Zoe," he said over his shoulder on the way out of the door. "See ya" SARAH shut the door behind him.

Zane stepped into the cool night air and headed toward his bike. He needed to think to try and solve this puzzle. Whatever Allison, Carter, Henry, Jo and Fargo had done could get them sanctioned. What the hell? That was a pretty serious offense and for some reason Jo thought he was going to rat them out to Mansfield. Not likely. Well maybe Fargo and maybe a few months ago. But something had changed since… Founders Day. That was when Lupo came in saying something about yes she would marry him.

Shit, somewhere or sometime he had proposed to Jo. His hand flew to his pocket, why couldn't he remember. Did he have amnesia and the town decided that it was better that he didn't remember. No, someone would have screwed up by now.

This had something to do with Grant too. What had Andy said about his history in Eureka? Something about the archives? Archives, history, holy fuck did they change the timeline?

Zane kick started his bike and headed home. He had some work to do and he needed to start with the town history.


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn had yet to break when Jo had escaped from the bunker. The problem with staying at a smart house was she asked too many questions. SARAH had questioned why she was up so early, why she was taking extra clothes and why she seemed to be in such a hurry.

"Jo you haven't even had breakfast and it is too early for Café Diem to be open. Can I please make you something? A smoothie, a bagel?" SARAH asked seemingly concerned.

"Sure, I'll take a smoothie and a coffee to go. I really am in a hurry. I have work at the office that has to be done and then I have to head to head to DC about the DED device theft." A plausible story Jo kept repeating hopefully SARAH would buy it for long enough for Jo to get out of town.

"Here you are." SARAH slid open a compartment in the kitchen with Jo's chosen breakfast in it.

Grabbing it Jo made her way back to the front door and grabbed her computer bag and suitcase. "Thanks SARAH, see you soon." The front door opened and Jo stepped into the darkness of predawn.

Loading her trunk and then sliding into the drivers seat Jo heaved a huge sigh. This was it the plan was in motion. Putting her car in drive she pointed it toward Global Dynamics.

Luckily this Jo was a workaholic and being in to work this early didn't raise any eyebrows. Heading straight towards her office, Jo packed the few personal belongings she had there and sat to compose her letters. One was a resignation letter to Fargo, hand written, an email might raise a red flag. The second was a letter apologizing for her abrupt departure.

Checking her watch it was 6:15. Almost time. She picked up the letters and headed to Fargo's office. She left them both sealed in an envelope on his desk. He wouldn't be in for at least an hour. Just enough time to slip into the bank pick up her new papers and get the hell out of Dodge.

At 6:58 Jo pulled her car into a parking spot in front of the bank. She slipped inside as soon as it opened. The early morning presence of the head of GD security raised a few eyebrows but not enough to spread like wildfire through the town. Jo quickly retrieved her papers, smiled at the bank clerk and bolted out the door.

7:05 and the blue Subaru was headed down Main Street and out of town. Jo looked around one last time. This is it she thought, she really had screwed up and hopefully the ramifications ended with her and didn't ruin the lives of her friends.

Zane was early for work. It was just after 7am when he crossed the rotunda headed for Jo's office. There were bags under his eyes, evidence that he hadn't slept the night before, but he had found his answer. Time travel, somehow the 5 of them had traveled to 1947 and had brought Dr. Trevor Grant with them. It hadn't even been that hard to figure it out. They hadn't changed the descriptions of the 5 people arrested. Zane had taken care that though, changed it just enough on the DOD and Eureka servers. He just had to get into the archives themselves and take care of the originals.

Stepping into Jo's office something seemed off. He had spent a lot of time in her cell and he knew her office almost as well as his apartment. Nothing was out of place but something was missing. Not being able to put his finger on it Zane sat in the chair opposite Jo's desk and waited for her.

Around that time Fargo stepped into his office, Larry close on his heels.

"You have a 9am with the head of the physics department and a lunch meeting with zoology, chief." Larry stated checking Fargo's appointment list on his data pad.

"Good just make sure that none of the zoology experiments are on the menu again. I don't care how nutritious it is I am not eating genetically altered ferret again." Fargo shuddered and picked up the letters on his keyboard.

"Right boss, anything else?" Larry asked bouncing on his heels.

Opening Jo's resignation letter, Fargo waved his hand to dismiss Larry.

_Dr. Douglas Fargo _

_Head of Global Dynamics_

_Dear Dr. Fargo,_

_Please accept this as my notice of immediate resignation as Head of Security of Global Dynamics. Enclosed is my Standard Non-Disclosure agreement. It has been a pleasure and an honor to have worked for you Dr. Fargo._

_Sincerely,_

_Josefina Lupo_

What the hell. Fargo reached for the other envelope hoping this one held answers.

_Fargo,_

_I screwed up, big time. I threw the engagement ring at __**Him**__ thinking the real him was a hallucination. Now he's asking questions and he told me he wouldn't leave it alone until I gave him answers. My mistake shouldn't cost the rest of you anything. I have to leave before he figures it out, I still love him and Mansfield would love to have this over him. I'm dropping off the radar, so please use any means necessary to keep everyone else out of this, blame me for the theft of the DED if you need to. I'll be fine. Again I am so sorry._

_Your friend,_

_Jo_

Holy crap! Fargo started to panic. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed Carter's number.

"Sheriff, it's Fargo. Have you seen Jo today? No well I just found her letter of resignation on my desk….. Yeah I'll check her office and see you soon. Allison's with you right?... Great" Fargo was half way out his door when he hung up.

"Larry, clear my day and please call Dr. Deacon and have him and Dr. Monroe meet me in my office immediately. The Sheriff and Dr. Blake will be here shortly." Fargo was practically running now. Larry looked confused but called after him, "Sure thing."

Panting Fargo opened the door to Jo's office and was surprised to see Zane sitting there. Pulling himself up to his fullest height, Fargo glared at Zane. "What are you doing here? Where's Jo?"

"I'm waiting for her, why are you here?" Zane replied

Ignoring him Fargo strode over to Jo's desk and started poking around, he was looking for something. "Dammit" he cursed under his breath and he whipped out his phone. "Carter, it's not here. If she took the her mom's music box she must really be gone…. Yeah I know, my office 10 minutes… Did you talk to SARAH? No, she wasn't schedule to go to DC….. Yeah. Bye." Fargo turned and stormed out of the office looking all the part of the tiny dictator that Zane had known before Founders Day.

Gone, wait what? Where had she gone? Zane quickly turned to follow Fargo back to his office.

Carter and Alison were waiting when Fargo walked in. As Zane entered Carter looked shocked. Addressing Fargo, Allison asked "Why is Zane here?"

Fargo shrugged and went to his computer and tapped a few buttons. "Sonic protocols?" Allison asked.

Fargo nodded just then Henry and Grace entered and the door shut behind them.

"What's going on?" Henry asked as he took stock of who was in the room.

"This morning when I came in I found these on my desk." He handed one letter to Carter and on e to Henry.

Grace broke the silence. "Jo quit? She seemed ok yesterday. What happened?" Carter handed her the other letter. Grace's eyes darted down the page. "Oh, this is bad. What are we going to do?"

Everyone was pointedly ignoring Zane and he was just about fed up. "Does this have to do with the trip to 1947?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Henry said deadpan. "But whatever you think you know is why we are in this situation to begin with. So please forget the last 2 days ever happened and leave now before it's too late." Henry's gaze was hard and steady and Zane almost flinched. Almost.

"I can prove it." Zane said softly. "Look I want to help. Whatever happened to cause your trip I doubt you did it on purpose, but it only took me a day to figure it out. I want to help."

"There's no point now." Carter said. "Jo left and there will be an investigation into the DED device and Jo is going to look guilty because she left now." Carter squeezed Allison's hand. "And they will look closely, too closely at her life and then we're busted."

"Plan B." Allison said softly. Henry and Carter nodded.

"When?" Grace asked.

"As soon as possible." Fargo answered. "How soon can you get Jenna and Kevin ready?"

"I can be packed and ready to go before Kevin is done with school. Jack, the kids and I can leave tonight." A tear escaped Allison's eye. Looking at Jack she asked "What about Zoe?"

"I can't make her come. She has her own life. I'll miss her like crazy but so far she is out of this. She'll be safe." Tears pooled in his own eyes.

"Grace and I can be ready tonight too." Henry grabbed Grace's hand. "Fargo?"

"I can stay behind until you guys have gotten out safely and then I can go too."

Zane stood there in complete disbelief. They were all seriously going to make a run for it from the DOD were they crazy. He opened his mouth to say something and Carter's phone rang.

"It's Jo."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok here is a short chapter just so Sara60691 doesn't lose any hair. Don't own Eureka, just messing around.**

"Jo where are you? Are you ok?"

"_I'm at the airport Jack. I'll be fine."_

"I'll come get you stay put do not get on a plane."

"_I have to go. I messed this all up. I'm so sorry."_

"Come home Jo, please? We can still fix this."

"_We can't. Zane knows too much now. What happens if he tells Zoe? I've signed their death warrants with this Carter. I have to protect them."_

"It's too late Jo. Zane knows. God help me if I know how the hell he knows but he says he has proof."

Jo's voice was wracked with sobs. _"I'm sorry. See this is all my fault. I am the weak link. If I stayed we would get caught. Just blame the DED theft on me, hell I'll give you a written confession. That should keep the DOD off your backs."_

"God Dammit Jo." Carter felt the anger rising. He was pacing the room, aware of the 5 sets of eyes on him. "This is not your fault. Just come back and let us fix this."

"_I can't. I'm sorry I'm such a coward, I just can't face this anymore."_

Carter punched the wall, hard, his knuckles were bleeding and his hand throbbing. Taking a deep breath and trying not to let the anger creep into his voice. "Jo, no one thinks you're a coward. You can face this, just let us help. We love you."

"_I love you too. Tell everyone I'm sorry and I hope they can forgive me. Bye Jack."_

"Jo don't hang up, don't.. stop.." but the line was dead. Rage bubbled inside of Carter. No one in the room had ever seen him that angry. God Jack couldn't remember the last time he was this angry. He really needed to break something or someone.

"Aghhhh!" He screamed picking up the Fargo bobble head off the desk. Throwing it as hard as he could at the wall, it shattered on impact. Still raging he looked for something else to throw. Fargo simply handed him his coffee mug. Jack smashed it against the wall too. Looking back at the desk, Fargo simply held out another bobble head and mug to him. Jack relaxed just slightly.

"How many of these do you have?" Carter asked.

"A couple boxes, they disappear pretty easily." Fargo retorted.

Allison stood and approached Jack warily. "Where is? Is she coming back?"

"She's at the airport and no she's not coming back." Frustration coming to a head, Jack scanned the room. Concern was written on Grace and Henry's faces, Zane's held confusion. Why the hell was he here? Why couldn't he just leave this alone? Now everything was ruined.

"This is your fault," Carter lunged at Zane. Henry caught him at the last second and held him back.

"My fault? My fault? You five change the timeline and this is my fault?" Zane asked incredulously.

"You had to push her needle her till she broke, had to question her about that damn ring. Then to test your little theory about it you kissed her. You just can't let things go, can you? You selfish son of a bitch." Jack spat at him.

"If you would have just told me what happened…"

Carter cut him off. "Why so you could have turned her in to Mansfield sooner. You hate her! You hate all of us! Why on earth would we have trusted you? Why should we trust you now?"

Zane's own anger and indignation growing now, "Maybe because I could have helped? You guys were sloppy in you clean up. I knew something was up with Grant's personnel file add that to your personality changes and stuff started looking hinky. Didn't take long to find out that Trevor Grant disappeared in 1947 along with 5 spies. One of which identified himself as the town sheriff."

Allison sighed, they really were busted. It didn't matter if Zane turned them in or not, the truth was way to easy to find. Leaving seemed to be the only option. Jenna would be ok with leaving she was still so young but Kevin would have to give up everything. Wasn't there anyway out of this?

"You want the truth Zane here it is" Carter was on a rampage and nothing was going to stop him. "The five us got sent back to the past by the god dammed bridge device. Grant tried to strand me there by taking my ticket home and bringing himself here in the process. He fucking changed the timeline and we tried but we couldn't go back and fix it and we're stuck here. None of us lost as much as Jo did when it happened, no one. It was easier to let you hate her even though it killed her. But you had to flaunt girls in front of her, like my daughter! You jackass all Jo wanted to do was protect you, to protect all of us from what could happen. And now it doesn't matter." Carter pushed past Henry and stormed out of the room.

Allison made to go after him but stopped at the door. "I'll get him and try to calm him down. Let's meet back at SARAH in an hour. Maybe we can think of a way to avoid Plan B. Bring him" she pointed at Zane and then turned to leave the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Even TABITHA could feel the tension between Zane and Douglas as she traveled down the road to SARAH. "Douglas is there something wrong? Perhaps you would like a massage. You seem tense."

"No thank you TABITHA. I'll be fine." Silence resumed.

"I think I can find her." Zane said looking at Fargo.

"Well it had better be fast before Mansfield notices she's missing." Fargo put the car in park outside SARAH.

Walking down the stairs Fargo and Zane entered the bunker.

"Good morning Dr. Fargo, good morning Dr. Donovan* Can I get you anything?"

"Nothing for me thanks SARAH." Zane smiled at least someone was polite to him.

Fargo simply shrugged and went to sit at the dinning room table where Carter, Allison , Grace and Henry sat.

Zane scanned the area around Carter for anything the Sheriff could throw at him and then sat as far away from him as possible. Just hoping to avoid another screaming match.

"SARAH recorders off, please." Carter said to the house. "Zoe is at the lake with Pilar so we don't have to worry about being overheard."

There was a very pregnant pause before anyone spoke. No one really sure where they should go from here, what the next step should be.

Fargo broke the silence. "I can buy us a couple of days to find her. Say she called and said she had a family emergency. Her notes were hand written so the only ones who know she left are in this room."

"Ok but where do we start looking for her?" Grace asked. "Does anyone know what name she took for her alias?"

"Jo handled all the alias' herself." Fargo sighed.

"But it even if we find her we are still vulnerable. It took Zane only a few hours to figure it out." Allison pointed out.

"Oh I took care of the records on the DOD mainframe and the computer records at GD. We just need to get rid of the physical records." Zane cut in.

"What do you mean took care of them?" Henry asked.

Zane smirked. "I tweaked them, changed the descriptions of the spies just enough that no one would connect them to you guys. But we still need to 'lose' the originals."

"Ok but we still have to find her." Fargo added.

"Oh we can find her." Zane said. "I am an excellent hacker and we have our very own US Marshall. Between the 2 of us we can find her."

Turning to Carter, Zane took a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to say. He hated apologizing even if he was in the wrong. "Look Sheriff, I'm sorry that I pushed but what would you have done in my situation? If I knew that by asking that Jo would have caused her to run I would have approached this differently. Let's work together and get her back."

Carter grunted and sighed, he knew that Zane wasn't completely to blame for all of this. "Fine, what do we need to do first?"

Zane let go of the breath he was holding. "I need a secure internet connection. We need to hack the TSA security cameras at the Portland airport."

"I can help with that Zane." SARAH spoke up. I bank of computers came down from the ceiling.

Zane stalked over to one of the terminals and started quickly typing commands into the computer.

"Great now my house is committing felonies." Carter mumbled under his breath. Everyone chose to ignore him.

Minutes ticked by, finally Zane smiled. "I'm in. Now I need to run a facial recognition program against the security feeds around the time we know Jo was at the airport. SARAH can you upload a photo of her into the program I'm bringing up?"

"Of course, I am calculating the time needed to run the program." SARAH paused as she completed her calculations. "I believe we shall have results in less then 30 minutes."

Zane continued to pound on the keys, bouncing them off servers all over the world to throw anyone looking off the trail as the minutes ticked by.

Finally SARAH broke the silence. "I found her and I know which flight she was on."

"Which one?" Fargo asked anxiously.

"American Airlines direct flight to Dallas. But her name is not on the flight manifest."

"Great so she is already using her alias." Allison sighed.

"No this is a good thing." Carter cut in. "We know which flight that she's on and we have the list of who's on it now we can find out what name she's using. When doe the flight land?" Carter asked pulling out his phone.

Zane checked the log "in about 45 minutes."

"Great I have a friend in the Dallas office who owes me a big favor. He can meet the plane and follow her. I need the flight number and gate info."

Henry spoke up as Jack talked to his friend. "Now we just need someone to go and convincer her to come back."

"The next flight for Dallas leaves in 2 hours. No one will make it in time." SARAH added.

"Not unless they take the GD chopper." Fargo added.

"I'll go" Zane volunteered. Carter having just come back in the room made to protest.

"No way, I'll go."

Zane shook his head. "If she won't come back then you need to be here so you can take Allison and the kids and get away. It makes sense for me to go."

Carter nodded and Fargo grabbed Zane by the arm pulling him towards the door.

"We need to go now." Fargo said almost frantic.

"I need to stop by my place first though." Zane added. "For supplies."

"Whatever but you need to make it quick."

Less then 2 hours later Zane was sitting on a plane to Dallas. He had stopped by his place to pick up his laptop and a fake id for himself. Settling into his seat he started to work on the plan to bring Jo home.

***I'm so confused by whether Zane has his PhD or not. He is referred to as both Mr. and Dr. Donovan and in E=MC? Allison asks if his dissertation was on the big bang and he replies yeah the first one. I believe he has one but is not hung up on titles.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So this is the correct Chapter 5. I was in such a rush to get it loaded before my meeting I uploaded the one from a different story. OOPS. Standard disclaimer I do not own Eureka.**

She could feel his presence before she could see him. Maybe it was his signature gait, or his unique scent she caught in the breeze, but she knew he was there. Gripping her coffee mug she steadied herself for the worst.

The first thing he noticed about her was that she had changed her hair. Jet black and pulled into a pony tail that was her signature style. Now it was a soft brown and shorter just below her shoulders. Pretty but not what you would expect from her. When had she had time to do that? It had only been what half a day since she had gotten here. Her clothes were also decidedly non-Jo. Her tight black skirt that had ridden up to mid-thigh when she sat, her legs looking amazingly long for her short frame. Her blouse was low v-neck, pale yellow and hugging in all the right places. Shaking his head clear he slid into the chair next to her, dropping his computer bag beside him.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked cocking his head to the side and smirking.

"You can have the table if you want it? I was just leaving." She said panicking yet trying to play it cool.

"Oh I don't think so, you're gonna stay right here and talk to me." Zane replied coolly. He signaled the waitress and ordered his coffee. Jo was feeling trapped.

"What do you want to talk about?" Jo asked casually although she was pretty sure she knew where this was going.

"I like stories," he said beaming at her "And I hear you have a damn good one to tell." He scooted closer to her putting his arm on the back of her chair.

"Right here in public?"

"Well we could go back to your hotel room." Again he smirked at her. "Calm down. No one here knows who we are. If they over hear us they will think were talking about some Sci-Fi movie. Please, just fill me in on what happened."

"How much do you want to know?" Jo swallowed hard.

"Start with they day you and other me met and end when you threw an engagement ring at me."

"That's a pretty long story. I'm not sure we have time."

Checking his watch Zane replied "Your plane for Italy doesn't leave for another 32 hours. I think we have time."

"How do you know that and how did you find me?"

Zane laughed "I am a master hacker, you are sloppy and Carter was a US Marshal. A pretty damn good one too, but don't ever tell him I said that"

Jo snorted "Master hacker huh? You managed to get your ass busted in both timelines and in this one you managed to get convicted. Aren't you violating your parole?"

"Nah you are escorting me to a physics conference at SMU. We needed a cover story to buy some time before plan B goes into effect for everyone."

"So you're here to bring me back?"

"Nope I'm here to get answers." Zane's arm was still around her shoulder and he was now tracing small circles there. "Come on Jo-Jo tell me what we were to each other."

Jo swallowed hard. She was fighting an internal battle. Why not just tell him, it didn't matter any way, he knew too much as it was and by tomorrow she would be long gone. Jo looked up and met his eyes.

"You really want to know?"

Zane smiled and nodded looking like an anxious 5 year old on Christmas morning. Jo laughed; sometimes he was such a child.

"It all started 2 years ago when you stole $3.1 million dollars from the DEA account…"

Zane listened intently as Jo spun her tale. Her eyes would light up when she told him about some crazy thing he did to save the town. Like she was proud of him. That amazed him, no one in his life, except his mom had ever truly been proud of him.

She laughed at some of his bad boy antics and was somber when she told him about the times when he got hurt, like the human computer virus or the ice fungus. It was obvious how much she cared for him, well other him, semantics really. Zane was laughing at some of the things that Fargo or Carter managed to get themselves into.

Tears pooled in Jo's eyes when she reached Founder's Day. "Then Carter walked in and you-he stormed out. The biggest regret of my life is that he will never know that what I wanted to say was yes. I was just caught off guard. In our relationship, I made the big commitment moves and he balked. It was our rhythm, our thing. For once he caught me off guard and I know that version of him, of you doesn't exist anymore but damn I really wanted him to know I would have said yes." A tear slid down her cheek and she reached for the necklace that had the engagement ring on it only to be disappointed it wasn't there.

Zane cupped her face in his hand and wiped the tear away with his thumb. He thought that they had been engaged maybe married. He hadn't expected this, hadn't thought that she would have frozen at the proposal. No wonder she wouldn't let him in, no wonder she hadn't told him. What he didn't understand was why this Jo had given other him a shot and his Jo always shot him down. It seemed like when he rolled into town he was the same cocky jackass, ok so this him had a felony conviction.

Studying Jo's face he leaned in toward her, damn he wanted to be her Zane. If the Enforcer Jo had given him the chance this Jo had would he have become more of the Zane she left behind. Man this was making his brain hurt thinking about this Jo, that Jo, this him that him. He really wished they could just some together as Jo and Zane.

Jo looked up at him; their lips were mere inches apart. Locking eyes Jo saw his lust, yeah that was always there but she also saw his concern it was a look other Zane had given her many times. Without really thinking she closed the gap between them.

Like in the Sheriff's office Zane was momentarily surprised by the intensity of her kiss, only momentarily though. Soon his brain stopped working and his mouth took over. He pulled her close to deepen the kiss, both trying to take control, neither keeping it for long. Finally breaking for air, Jo pushed away, sliding her chair away from his.

"Now do you see why I can't go back? This is too hard, it's too much. I let my feelings get in the way and I gave you enough to figure out what was going on. What happens if the next time I slip up it's to someone like Mansfield?" She stiffened sitting up straighter. "I've already ruined everything."

Zane studied her for a few moments then he reached into his computer bag and pulled out two sets of papers. "Well your secret is safe with me but that means I'm in this up to my neck now too." He started. Jo's eyes went wide with fear for him; she knew he could be sanctioned too.

"So I see two options. First one," He pushed one set of papers forward, "is that Jo Lupo and Zane Donovan return to Eureka, we find a way to better cover this up and everyone of the time travelers returns to their normal lives."

Jo looked down at the papers he gave her, plane tickets to Portland. "Or?" She asked tentatively.

Zane smirked and slid her the other set of tickets. "Or everyone goes to Plan B and Alexander Murphy," he pointed to himself "and Jovanna Rossi" he pointed at her "head to Italy tomorrow, first class." He grinned at her loving the stunned look on her face as she looked at the tickets to Italy under their alias'.

"Come on Jo-Jo your choice, Eureka or Italy. Either way you're stuck with me."


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning I went M with this chapter and it is my first attempt at it so please don't be harsh. Also I don't own Eureka.**

First class really was the way to travel, Jo thought as she stretched out in the window seat. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. Zane grabbed her hand, threading their fingers together and absent mindedly stroking her knuckles with his thumb. At least they were in this together. It may not be exactly like having _her Zane_ back but she did have a Zane, and weren't they all really the same underneath.

Now resting her head on his shoulder she snuggled closer, feeling like a weight had been lifted. Maybe because now Zane was sharing the burden? Her thoughts drifted to last night after Zane had given her the plane tickets.

He had flashed that cocky Zaneish grin of his at her and she knew he was serious about going with her.

"What if I chose Italy or someplace else without you?"

"Then I would track you down again. Face it Jo-Jo you are stuck with me."

Jo sighed heavily and Zane's face fell. Was she upset that he was here? He thought.

"This must seem so simple to you. Chose a life, one or the other, no consequences, but it's not. It's not just me it's Henry, Grace, Allison, her kids, Carter Fargo and now you that could suffer for the choice I make right now." She paused looking deep into his eyes. "I want to make the right choice for everyone."

Zane took her hands in his. "You will, I know you will. Look neither plane leaves till tomorrow. We can sleep on it." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Punching him pretty hard in the arm and rolling her eyes she exclaimed "Jackass"

Zane laughed and rubbed his arm.

But that is where the night had ended, sleeping on it. They had left the coffee shop and had dinner at the Studio Movie Grill. (a movie theater with a restaurant in it). They saw some comedy which took Jo temporarily out of her problems. For a few hours she could pretend 1947 never happened and just enjoy the moment. Pretend life could be fun again.

Is this what it would be like to run away with Zane? Carefree, fun, like some ending in a movie. Or would they spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders until Zane got fed up and left her alone?

What would life be like if they went back to Eureka? Would one member of the group slip and the secret would be out? Would things go back to normal? Was there a right choice? Why couldn't she stop thinking?

By this time they had made it back to her hotel and Zane made no attempt to get his own room.

"Oh no Jo I'm not leaving you alone so you can slip away again. Like I said you are stuck with me." Zane had simply stated when Jo told him he wasn't staying in her room.

God he was pushy and he usually got what he wanted. Right now it was pretty evident that he wanted her. If she was honest she wanted him too. She missed him and that kiss in the Sheriff's office only proved to her that they still had that spark.

Zane closed the door to the room behind him and took a step in Jo's direction. Without thinking she closed the gap between them crushing her mouth to his. One of her hand snaked into his hair the other came up to cup his cheek. Their tongues dueled with need. She moaned into his mouth as one of his hands found her breast over her blouse. Zane smiled and ran his thumb in a circle over her nipple, it perked at his touch. He moved his other hand up and started to undo the buttons of her shirt.

She reached down and put both hands under his, feeling the tight muscles of his abs. This was a change she could get used to. Her short nails lightly gliding across his chest now.

Zane finished the unbuttoning and lifted his arms so Jo could push his own shirt off, then she shrugged off hers. He pushed her into the nearest wall and sought her lips again. It was as if she was a drug and he was an addict.

Grinding into her Jo could feel how his hardness and then could feel her own liquid heat grow. His mouth left hers and trailed down her neck stopping where her clavicle met her sternum. Lifting his lips he whispered, "If we are going to stop it had better be soon."

"Please don't stop, please.. Just..."

He didn't need any more encouragment then that. The next few moments were spent shedding their respective clothing. Freed of their constraints Zane lifted her, noting just how tiny she really was and carried her to the bed and laid her down.

Hovering over her, he drank in the sight of her naked body, so god damned perfect.

"Zane." She pleaded and he sank into her. Slow at first they found their rhythm. Soon Jo shattered and Zane quickly followed. Both were breathing heavily as he rolled off of her.

"That was.." Jo started.

"Amazing" Zane finished. "Is it always like that?"

"Oh yeah, sometimes it's better." She smirked "Especially the make up sex."

"Now that I know that, there is no way you are going anywhere without me Jo." He was now drawing small circles on her arm.

Snuggling into each other Jo knew she didn't want to go anywhere without him either. Zane drifted off to sleep but Jo was wide awake contemplating the future.

* * *

><p>By morning Jo knew which choice to make.<p>

"Are you sure this is what you want." Zane asked as they boarded the plane.

"Positive," she said smiling at him. They settled in for the long flight. First class was very nice, big cushy seats, room to spread out and after last night enough space to stretch her sore muscles.

After take off, Jo leaned her chair back while Zane popped in his ear buds. Soon Jo was sleeping, resting peacefully until the flight attendant came over the speaker.

"Will everyone please bring their seats and tray tables into the locked and upright position as we begin our descent into our final destination city."

"No turning back now Jo-Jo. Any regrets."

Jo squeezed his hand and planted a light kiss on his lips. "Nope, no regrets."


	7. Chapter 7

**The season finale really helped me get my mojo back. I can't wait until next season, the preview looked amazing. I really wish I owned Eureka but maybe Santa will bring it to me for Christmas.**

"So tell me again why you locked the keys in the car?" Zane laughed.

"I didn't lock them in the car. I left them in the gas cap thingy. It just wasn't supposed to be this hard to open it." Jo was frustrated as she tried to open the compartment.

Zane knew he shouldn't be laughing but she was really cute when she got flustered.

Rolling her eyes at him she continued "plus I wasn't planning on coming back.. Ah ha! I got it." The keys fell into Jo's hand.

"Well personally I'm glad you came back. Although being with you in an exotic location was a pretty good plan too." Zane cocked his head and gave her a lazy grin. Zane's mind drifted to images of Jo in a bikini on a beach. Man those images were going to haunt his dreams. A hard punch to his arm courtesy of the beautiful woman standing in front of him knocked him out of his daydreaming.

"Oww" he rubbed his arm, spending time with Jo was going to be hazardous to his health. But oh so worth it.

"Jackass" Her tone said ticked off but her eyes said differently. "Maybe if you behave we can go visit someday and live out some of those fantasies I know you're having."

"If you would have told me _that_ 2 years ago maybe I would have." Zane leaned in his eyes locked on her lips.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Who says I didn't?" closing the gap between their lips.

When they finally pulled apart remembering they were in the airport parking lot.

Zane pleaded "Please tell me you kept the wig." recalling the short brown wig she had been wearing in Dallas.

"It's in my suitcase." She smiled. "We should go. Get in.." She pulled away and stepped towards the driver's side door.

"I am so jealous of other me right now" Zane slid into the passenger seat.

Jo chuckled and then remembered something. "Wait, where is your bike? Didn't you bring it?"

"Nope, white knight physicists rescuing badass Ranger damsels in distress get to take the GD chopper instead of a trusty stead." Zane steeled himself for her punch, instead she just laughed as she put the car in reverse.

"Cute Donovan, cute but never call me a damsel in distress again or I will deviate your septum."

"It really is scary how hot you are when you say things like that."

"You have no idea." Jo gave him a half smile.

They fell into a comfortable sconversation as the car headed back to Eureka. When they were a few miles from the city limits, Zane started to fidget. "Umm Carter wanted you to stop by SARAH when we get back to town, I don't think he will believe you're back until he sees it for himself."

"Yeah sure, I really need to apologize for the way I acted in the last few days." She noticed his growing discomfort, panic rising in her again. Was he regretting coming back, was he just going to dump her. "Something wrong?" she asked not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

Zane closed his eyes and leaned back against the head rest. He reached over and grabbed Jo's hand. Squeezing it tightly he softly replied, "Zoe".

Oh crap, Jo thought. "What are we going to do about her? What do you want to do?"

"What I want Jo-Jo is you."

Jo let out a breath. Maybe she didn't completely romanticize their relationship. Zane really could be incredibly sweet when his ego wasn't getting in the way.

"What I don't want to do is hurt Zoe. But I only have myself to blame." Sighing Zane lightly banged his head against the headrest. Jo laughed, she knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't help how cute he looked. Remorse really was a good look on him.

"I'm glad you find this funny."

"I don't, I really don't." Jo said between giggles. "It's just that you're so cute when you are all humble. So different, I hardly ever see you humble."

"Glad to know other me wasn't a push over."

"Nope" Jo popped the p in her response. "Pretty much the same, only slightly less snarky and not nearly as many stupid pranks. Not sure I'd want it any other way." She gave him a bright reassuring smile.

Zane smiled too. Looking over at Jo he knew he really was a lucky man. "Seriously what am I going to do about Zoe?"

"Well maybe you should tell her the truth."

Zane was confused. "I thought you left in order to avoid telling her the truth."

Jo took a deep breath. "Maybe not the whole truth. Can't you just tell her that there is someone else and you're really sorry that you strung her along?"

"Honesty, hmm I've never tried that with a girl before. Present company excluded." Zane really was amazed at how honest he and Jo had been with each other in the past 2 days. Not even with his mom or his grandmother did he have the kind of conversations they he and Jo were having now.

"But won't she be mad?" Zane asked.

"Yeah but the longer you draw it out the harder it will be."

"I think the town is going to freak out when they find out we're together." Zane was sure the first time Vincent saw them in Café Diem the news would be all the way to GD before the food hit the table.

"Nah, most of them will think 2 years of you pulling stunts and me throwing you in jail was just sexual tension." Jo replied.

"Umm because it was." The words left Zane's mouth before he could stop them, but it was worth the look of shock on Jo's face. "What half the shit I pulled was to get your attention. Ok more like 80 percent. Even when I pulled dumb ass stuff in town you busted me not Carter. Maybe it was a little twisted but me pulling pranks or you busting me for things you knew I didn't do, it was just to get the other ones attention."

"But you hated me. When I first got her you hated me, her." Jo was almost speechless.

"We never really hated each other we just got stuck in this weird cycle because neither one really knew what else to do. I thought you wanted me to be a goody two shoes all the time. And you didn't want to date a felon and ruin your image. But we kept being pulled back to each other."

They had arrived at SARAH and Jo put the car in park, stunned.

"So you see no matter the time, it leads back to you and me." He leaned over and kissed her gently. "Come on Carter will be waiting, he can see your back then you can give me a ride home and maybe stay awhile."

Wow Jo thought, this is not where she had expected the conversation to go. Maybe just maybe this timeline wasn't all that bad. Maybe here she and Zane really could fit. Only one obstacle left; Zoe.


	8. Chapter 8

Checking to make sure that Zoe's car wasn't there one more time, Jo approached SARAH. The door swung open when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Welcome home Jo and hello Zane." SARAH chirped brightly. "I am so glad that you are back."

Carter had been in the kitchen when the pair had entered but quickly made his way over to Jo. Enveloping her in tight hug he said "Thank God your back." Letting go he turned on the dad voice "Never run away again."

Jo chuckled now she knew how Zoe must have felt all those years ago. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you all in that position."

"Next time, just come to us, we can usually fix things. Despite what the super geniuses in this town think, I am pretty resourceful." Carter smiled.

"I will keep that in mind." Meeting his eyes she continued, "Really I'm so sorry. After the ring incident I panicked. All I could think about was everyone getting in trouble because of my big mouth. Not because I really thought he would tell but because of how easily bits of the truth had slipped out. But I created a bigger problem by fleeing didn't I?"

Carter nodded, "You falling off the grid so soon after the DED theft, too suspicious. Mansfield would have started looking too hard and something would have given. I'm just glad Zane brought you back." His gaze shifted to where Zane had been standing uncomfortably by the door.

Jack stepped forward and extended his hand to Zane. "Thank you; you really don't know how much this means."

Zane looked skeptically at Carter. A few days ago this man had wanted to pound him into the ground and now he was offering his thanks. Hoping this wasn't just another trick, Zane took the proffered hand. "Anytime man."

Carter grinned. "I always knew we could trust you."

Zane smirked "Someday you'll have to tell me why."

"Maybe... I'll think about it." Carter laughed.

Jo had crossed the room to stand by Zane's side. "Um, Carter, I'm going to run Zane back to his place. We'll talk more later? Assuming I'm not grounded."

Laughing Jack said "No not grounded this time. But I think SARAH may need to have a word later." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "She was not happy at the prospect of me leaving and you remember the last time she thought that I was leaving."

Jo shuddered remembering BRAD and SARAH on lock down mode. Zane snaked an arm around Jo's waist.

"Sheriff, I promised not to kidnap or hold anyone hostage again. Why do you still not believe me?" SARAH asked.

Carter shook his head, grumbling "Between you and Jo and Zoe I feel like I have three teenagers." He stomped out of the room. Nothing got under his skin as much as SARAH did.

Jo and Zane were laughing so hard they didn't hear the door open behind them.

"Hey guys, I see you made it back from the conference in Dallas."

Jo blanched and stepped away from Zane. His arm was still around her and was reluctant to let go.

Zoe took in the scene before her; she had her dad's knack for assessing a situation. She had noticed the close contact and the way Jo had tried to move but also the way Zane had tried to stop her from doing so. "What's going on here?"

Jo heard the anger rising in Zoe's voice. "It's, umm, nothing. I just stopped in to talk to your dad before we check in at GD. The conference was great though physics at that level is above my head." She babbled.

"No I mean, what the hell is Zane's arm doing around you?" Her eyes glared at Jo. Zoe crossed her arms and waited for an explanation.

"I tripped and Zane was attempting to catch me?" Jo offered.

"You are a terrible liar Josefina Lupo, spill why are so cuddly with the guy you know I like?"

Zane stepped in between the two women. "Look Zoe we need to talk."

"Oh. My. God. Are you dumping me for Jo?"

"Zoe look were friends, just friends. I'm sorry that you thought it was more then that but I am too old for you. We were just hanging out. Jo and I have a spark, you know, always have." Zane flinched waiting for the anger and yelling he knew was coming.

Zoe stepped around him and launched another tirade at Jo. "Why didn't you tell me about the two of you? You let me embarrass myself. I thought we were close and that we could tell each other anything. And you two were supposed to hate each other."

"We never really hated each other." Jo replied feebly. Normally Jo would fight back but right now she knew she deserved this a little. Better to let Zoe hate her then to have her find out and be sanctioned along with the rest of them.

Carter had come down the stairs when the yelling started. "I tried to tell you Zoe." He said softly. "When you told me about your crush, I tried to tell you about Jo but you didn't want to listen."

Zoe's stopped her mind flying back to the conversation between her and her dad. _"What about Jo?"_ he had asked.

"Look Zoe, I'm really sorry you got hurt but Jo and I have been dancing around each other for years. Neither one of us thought anything would happen but in Dallas we just sparked. I'm sorry I led you on, that was mostly me wanting to mess with your dad, but you and I never would have worked."

Zoe was not mollified by Zane's explanation. Turning again to Jo she reared again. "I hope you two are happy together. Boy do you deserve each other. You knew I liked him and went after him any way you are nothing but a bitch and no friend of mine. And you." She turned to Zane "Are nothing but a womanizing scumbag. Pathetic. I hope he breaks your heart Jo but don't expect me to help pick up the pieces. I'm done with both of you." Zoe blundered up the stairs filled with rage almost knocking her dad over along the way.

Jo felt deflated on her best friends in the world had just let her have it and to tell the truth she thought she deserved it.

Carter looked at her thoughtfully. "She didn't mean that. She's not thinking clearly. When she calms down the two of you can talk more. I'll go take care of her; you guys just give her some space right now." He turned and followed Zoe up the stairs.

Zane once again put his arm around Jo and led her towards the door.

SARAH ever the busybody chimed in "I'll let you know when the coast is clear Jo. I'm sure the Sheriff will talk some sense into her."

"Thanks" Jo mumbled back as she collapsed into Zane's side letting him lead the way.

"I'm sorry she took it out on you, Jo. If she knew the truth she wouldn't be as upset." Zane whispered in her ear. "But I meant every word I said to her in there. Let's go back to my place."

"Zane.." Jo started but he quickly cut her off as they reached the car.

"Just to let her cool off, nothing has to happen, unless you want it to." He said smirking. "You may want to stay the night at Allison's though. I really don't want to give that girl any more ammunition. She can be deadly."

Zane took Jo's keys and slid her into the passenger seat, and then he got behind the wheel. "Did you want to get take out first?"

Jo laughed "Ok but we go in separately I really don't want to be the subject of town gossip do soon after that fiasco." She waved a hand in the general direction of the bunker.

"Don't worry your white knight physicist will always come to your rescue. Not that you can't handle any situation yourself." He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.

"Uh huh, let's get going before Zoe come out for round two."

"Your wish is my command." Zane said as he put the car in gear and headed towards Café Diem. One thing was for sure dating Jo Lupo would be anything but boring, especially if he got a replay of last night.


	9. Chapter 9

**So I am finally ready to finish this fic out, sorry for the delay but Time and Distance kind of took over my brain and squeezed this one out. Standard Disclaimer; Eureka = Not mine**

It had been 10 days since the 'Zoe Incident' as Zane called it. Jo was staying with Allison because the blonde teenager was still in a snit. Racking his hand through his hair Zane inwardly cursed that girl. She was bound and determined to make Jo's life hell. Not only had Jo been made to feel unwelcome in the only place she knew as home right now but word of him and Jo had been spread across town by the next morning. Zoe had tried to make it into some big scandal but it hadn't worked. Most people didn't seem surprised though, like Jo had said they had assumed two years of sexual tension had finally won over. Vincent had asked Zane to confirm the rumors though, just so the winner of the betting pool could collect. Small towns, Zane thought, gotta love 'em.

This morning like many others since the Dallas trip, Jo had met Zane for breakfast at the café. Pleasant conversation and a few laughs passed between them. They avoided PDA because to the town this was a new relationship, hell to Zane this was a new relationship. In public Zane was a gentleman, not his normal style but Jo made it worth his while in the privacy of his apartment. Seriously had Lupo the Enforcer offered this much incentive to behave himself, she would have had far fewer problems.

Today Zane walked Jo to her car after breakfast. Brushing fingers against her face, he kissed her softly and quickly. "Dinner, my place tonight?" He asked as she slid into the driver's seat.

"Well considering my place is a hole in the ground, yours sounds like a good option." She smiled up at him. "See you later."

He raised a hand to wave as she pulled away. What was it about this woman that drove him crazy and turned him into this sweeter romance novel version of himself? Contemplating that question he stepped towards his bike so he could make his own way to work. Someone short cut across his path and stopped him, Zoe.

He tried to step around but she once again stepped in front of him. Again he tried to maneuver around her, again she blocked him. "Can I help you?" He snarked.

"You are a jackass and an asshole." She was itching for another fight.

"Thank you. Can I please leave now?" He was trying to control the annoyance in his voice. What claim did Zoe ever have to him? Sure he had helped her with some of her classes, and they had hung out when she had come back to Eureka. Hell he'd never done anything more then hug her. She'd tried to kiss him and he would turn away. She would try to get him to spend all his time her, like making him promise to try to come to the lake and he'd blown it off. Damn, it had been fun to mess with Carter but if he would have been really interested, she'd have known. Playing games with girls was not his style. Ok, with most girls.

"No!" Zoe exclaimed bringing him out of his thought. "You can't just use me like you did and now you are using Jo. God you're a pig." Her yelling was attracting attention now.

"I was using you? Are you kidding me?" He wasn't going to rise to meet her screaming but there was a hard edge to his voice. "You were upset that Lucas practically dumped you and you wanted me to be your rebound guy. We were, we are _**friends**_ Zoe. Yes I may have let the crush that you had on me linger but I never really encouraged you."

"Oh yes you did, Zane, you..."

"I what? I hung out with you a couple of times; I helped you with your classes. I never did anything more then hug you, Zoe. You wanted to use me to mend your broken heart but I'm not that kinda guy. Maybe I am a jackass and an asshole but I am not going to give up the best thing that has happened to me in years just so you can stake some claim on me you never had the right too in the first place. Get over yourself and grow up."

This time he managed to side step the shocked kid. Yeah maybe he had been a little harsh with her but she was begging for it rewriting their history. He swung onto his bike and took off to GD. He was still in the process of setting up the new lab Fargo had given him and throwing himself into some equations would hopefully clear his mind. First he had to find Jo and let her know about this little fight he'd had with Zoe, and he needed to do tell her before the rumor mill beat him to it.

**EUREKA**

Zoe was standing dumbstruck in front of Café Diem still contemplating what had just happened.

"You ok?" Her dad asked. Jack had seen and heard the argument but had kept his distance.

Zoe shook her head. "That did not go the way I expected."

Jack took her arm and directed her into the Sheriff's office. "And how did you expect it to go?"

Zoe sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "I don't know maybe I expected him to grovel and beg me to give him another chance. Then I could laugh at him and crush his heart." Ok so even she knew that was ridiculous. Her dad just sat there staring at her. "What?" She yelled exasperated, today was really beginning to suck.

"I'm waiting for the punch line because you have got to be joking." He crossed his arms. "Zane Donovan doesn't grovel or beg. And as much as I love you, your rejection would not crush his heart."

Looking down at her hands, she tried to compose herself. "I know, it's just that I really liked him or at least I thought I did. Maybe he's right; maybe I was using him to get over Lucas. But did it have to be Jo?"

Jack walked over and hugged his daughter. "Look I know this sucks and I could give you a thousand reasons why you and Zane weren't right for each other and none of them have to do with his felony convictions. But he and Jo have something that was there long before your crush."

"She told you that she had a thing for Zane? But not me? No way" disbelief in her voice. Her dad had tried to talk to her in the last few days about all of this but she scoffed him off every time.

"You know Jo; she plays things close to the vest. The cop and the criminal, maybe she was embarrassed by the fact that she had feelings for him. And maybe I know a thing or two about unrequited love." Jack smiled as he thought of years of pinning for Allie.

"But Zane hated her." Zoe started.

"Please that guy has the emotional range of a fifth grader. He was just pulling her hair a recess to get her attention because negative attention is still attention." Jack laughed. "Plus did you even bother to check the odds on them before you came back to town."

"1,000 to 1 right?"

"They were a few months ago but they dropped to 5 to 1."

"I forgot the first rule of Eureka, always check with Vincent." Zoe laughed. God she had been stupid. She liked to think she was grown up, smart, sophisticated, worldly but she wasn't. She still had to grow up a lot. "I guess I owe Jo and Zane an apology. He's right I had no claim to him and I over reacted."

"That's my girl." Jack smiled. "You know if she really had stolen your boyfriend I would have helped you take down both of them."

"Yeah right, Zane maybe but Jo could knock us both out before we saw her coming."

"She is small but scrappy isn't she?"

"And scary when she gets angry," Zoe added. "Did I really mess things up with her?"

'Nah, you know Jo, she loves you. More concerned about hurting you then her own feelings, but you should apologize for the things you said. And you should forgive her for hurting you too."

Zoe went to leave but stopped. 'Thanks dad."

"Anytime Zo, anytime."


	10. Chapter 10

**Still not mine and no copyright infringement is intended.**

Sitting at her desk while sipping her Vinspresso, Jo was going over the latest lab equipment requisitions. She had to check them for security issues before the list went to Fargo for final approval. Pausing when her eyes fell on Zane's name, she smiled. After the whole Plan B fiasco Fargo had given Zane his own lab as a kind of thank you. Zane joked that it was a bribe but Jo knew he deserved a shot at his own lab, his own research.

The past week or so had been nice, they were dating again. Spending time together, but never spending the night. She was staying with Allison and didn't want to be a bad influence on Kevin. The only problem now was Zoe. Her pseudo sister had been mad, ok pissed after she found out about Jo and Zane. Zoe had been giving Jo the cold shoulder since the incident. Jo secretly wished that they could just bring her in on the whole timeline thing but it was just too big of a risk. The only hope was that Zoe would cool off and she and Jo could rebuild their friendship.

Getting back to work Jo quickly scanned Zane's requests, nothing too outrageous and nothing dangerous. She confirmed her approval and sent it to Fargo. Hearing her door open she looked up.

"Hey, I didn't think I would see you until later. Just finished approval on your lab reqs." She was grinning broadly but his face was masked with concern. "Everything ok?"

With a deep breath he said "It's Zoe, she cornered me after you left his morning."

"What happened?" whatever it was he looked worried.

"Don't be mad…"

"No conversation ever goes well when it starts with don't be mad."

Zane rolled his eyes and continued, "She was in a mood and said something about how I used her and now I was using you. And Ok maybe I was a bit harsh but..." His mouth was in overdrive, he meant to sugar coat his part and make Zoe angrier if that were possible but instead he just babbled. "I'm just tired of her acting like she had no part in what happened. _**She**_ decided to _**use me**_ to get over Lucas and I never _**really **_encouraged her. Oh and I told her that she needed to grow up and get over herself." He braced himself for Jo to be angry and yell at him for being harsh with Zoe. Yet again she surprised him by laughing.

"So Zoe picked a fight with you in public and you put her in her place?" She asked trying to hold back the laughter.

"Yeah, I didn't yell or anything but I pretty much told her to back off." Zane would never understand Jo.

"And you were worried I would be mad at you for it?" He nodded. "Zoe is a big girl Zane. She can handle herself. If she wants to try and pick a fight with you then she needs to handle the consequences. We've both apologized for our parts in this, but your right she's not blameless either. I just hope this whole thing blows over soon."

She came around her desk and pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him. "I really need to get back to work and so do you but I'll see you night. Seven?"

"Better make it six; I'm not sure I can wait Josefina." He said with a gleam in his eye.

She swatted his arm and nodded. Walking back around her desk and plopping into her chair she watched him leave. Man did he have a nice ass. She picked up her data pad and went back to work on requisitions before her weekly meeting with Fargo and the department heads. Even if there wasn't a disaster this was going to be a long day.

**EUREKA**

5:52pm she checked her watch again. Damn she was going to be late. Jo fired off a quick text to Zane.

_Sorry, gonna be a few mins late. I'll hurry. _

Jo finished the last of her reports and was just shitting off her data pad to leave when the door to her office opened. Without looking up she started in on the visitor, "This had better be important because it's late and I have somewhere I need to be..."

"I'm sorry Jo I just wanted to talk for a minute. I'll come back at a better time." Zoe turned to leave.

Jo rushed around her and cut her off. "No it's fine, it had just been a long day and I was afraid there was another emergency to deal with. Please stay, we really need to talk."

Zoe relented and sat in one of the visitors chairs in front of Jo's desk. Moving the other to face Zoe, Jo sat too.

"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time. They both laughed and it broke some of the tension in the room.

Jo started again "Please just let me tell you that I'm sorry you got hurt in this whole mess with Zane. That was never my intention. And maybe you're right and maybe he will break my heart one day. But I really like him Zoe and I won't apologize for being with him." Jo let out a slow breath.

"Jo, I'm sorry too. I way over reacted. It was a crush not a relationship, it's not like you stole my boyfriend or something. What I said to you was wrong and I really am sorry. I want to be happy you found a guy who really likes you, actually he said you were the best thing that has happened to him for a very long time." Zoe waved her hand in acknowledgement of getting off tangent. "Anyway I will be happy for you just not today. Give me a little bit, in the mean time I forgive you and hope you forgive me."

Jo smiled, "friends?"

"Nah, more like sisters." Zoe leaned over and hugged her. "Let's just never fight over a guy again."

"Deal."


	11. Chapter 11

Six months later

"Hey babe, I need you to pack your overnight bag, we have a plane to catch." Zane strode straight into Jo's new house. They had been practically living together for the past few months, she hadn't even threatened him when he added himself to her security system.

"Hello to you too Zane. How was your day? Mine was great thanks!" Jo replied barely looking up from the book she was reading. "And just where do you think we're going?"

He plopped down on the couch next to her. "It's a surprise." He took the book out of her hands and gave her a proper hello kiss. "But we really need to hurry. I already have a suitcase packed for you but I don't understand all that stuff you keep in the bathroom and didn't want to pack the wrong things since I have no idea if you can get them where we are going. So chop chop."

He pulled her to her feet and tugged her up the stairs. Resisting the urge to twist his arm behind his back she asked, "Don't we have work tomorrow? Or did you take care of that too?"

"Yep Dougie gave us both two whole weeks off, so we are going on a nice long relaxing fun vacation. We really don't want to miss our flight so please make with the packing." He gently pushed her into the bathroom and passed her an overnight bag.

Reluctantly Jo began to pack the bag. "What do you mean you already packed a suitcase for me? I am not going to spend two weeks wearing a short shorts and a tube top!"

"Ok I'll take that bag out of the car then and just leave the one with g-strings and pasties." He winked at her as he leaned against the doorway.

She gave him a cold stare and he held up his hands in surrender. "Zoë helped me pick the clothes for the trip. And if you don't like what I picked then I am more then happy to buy you an entire new wardrobe, as long as you model them for me." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"So I'm getting a relaxing vacation and a new wardrobe. I could live with that." She put the last of her stuff in the bag and turned ready to go. "Do I get to know where we are going now?"

"Nope not till we board the plane." Zane grabbed her bag and rushed her down the stairs and into the passenger seat of her car.

"That will go over well if I get picked by the TSA for a random screening. 'Where are you going?' 'I don't know it's a surprise, oh I'm flagged in the system for being trained in 6 types of deadly fighting techniques' I won't end up in an interrogation room after that. But maybe that's what you're going for; you want to see me in a detention cell don't you?"

"You really know how to ruin a surprise don't you?" His eyes said annoyed but his smile that still said annoyed.

"Sorry, I'll behave you put a lot of thought into this and I'm really excited about time away to relax. But this place better have room service, because we may be spending a day or two enjoying each others view."

"Do you have any idea how hot that is Jo-Jo?" It took all his will power to concentrate on the road after she said that and then smirked at him with her eyebrow raised. "Fine," he caved. "I will tell you where we are going ok?"

Jo smiled excitedly and squirmed in her seat. Worked every time, when she needed information from Zane, a little sexual innuendo and a sultry look, maybe a threat about hurting him, it only took seconds to get him to cave. Although once he lasted a whole 5 minutes and she had to undo a button or three but same result.

"So where are we going on our epic adventure?"

"Let me give you a clue Ms. Rossi. We are flying first class." Zane smiled knowing she'd catch on quick.

Grinning, she squealed "We're going to Italy."

"Yep, I figured we may not be starting a life on the run, but a couple weeks would be fun." He reached over and took her hand.

"Please tell me we are using our actual passports and not our aliases."

"Well maybe." She punched his arm. "Oww Jo, ok so we are using our real names. We have to save out aliases just in case. Only this time they will be hacker proof."

"I'm sure they will be master hacker." She squeezed his hand. "So what's the game plan for our vacation? And I'm not kidding about the room service"

**So who is ready for a vacation with the happy couple in Italy? I know I am, next chapter will probably be an M.**


	12. Chapter 12

Their first week in Italy had been amazing. They had gone hiking through the country side and had toured the Coliseum in Rome, thrown coins in the Trevi fountain. One of those days had been spent enjoying the view from the hotel suite and room service. So far this had been the most amazing vacation of Jo's life. A few months ago she would have never thought she could be this happy again.

It was nice to be away from Eureka, nice to be away from the mad scientists and nice to know more about a subject than Zane. Jo had studied European history at West Point and since her family was Italian* she had been particularly fascinated with this country.

Tonight they were in Milan and Zane had once again planned a surprise. No matter what she did this time he wouldn't crack. He had simply handed her a garment bag and said to be ready in an hour.  
>Sighing she slipped into the simple yet stunning dress Zane had picked that was a perfect fit. She quickly put on a small amount of makeup and styled her hair and was ready with thirty minutes to spare.<p>

"Wow" he ogled as she stepped out of the bathroom. "You look amazing."

"You clean up pretty nice yourself Donovan." He was wearing a navy blue suit with a matching button down shirt. Noticing the tie on the back of the chair she walked over and picked it up. She ran it through her fingers.

"What are we dressing up for?" she asked in a sultry tone.  
>Zane swallowed hard but quickly pasted a smirk on his face. "You'll see and you'll love it, promise." He grabbed her hands to still them. "Have I disappointed you once on this trip?"<p>

A smile curled on her lips and her gaze flicked up and down his body. "Not one single time." She pulled her hands from his grasp and moved them around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Breaking it quickly she tucked the tie under his collar and made quick work of tying it.

"Let's go then. I want to see what brilliant evening you have planned and maybe later I can show you that I never disappoint either."

"You never do Jo-Jo." they kissed again and this time he pulled back. "As much fun as this would be, I really did plan a once in a lifetime evening that trust me you don't want to miss. Come on." He took her hand and led her out the door and downstairs to the limo he had waiting.

Dinner had been amazing but Jo was unimpressed when Zane blindfolded her before going onto the next part of their date.

"Just trust me ok, it'll be worth It." he smiled and she reluctantly leaned I. And let him tie the blindfold over her eyes. He motioned for the driver to proceed and in no time they were pulling up in front of their destination. The driver opened the door and Zane helped Jo out onto the sidewalk.  
>Positioning her in front of the building and he pulled off the blind fold. "Welcome to the Teatro Alla Scala home to the top ballet in all of Italy." Zane felt her hand tremble ever so slightly in his.<p>

"Who are you and what did you do with the real Zane Donovan?" She asked incredulously.

Zane laughed, "Sorry still me, I just found a really great reason to behave myself, well most of the time on the behaving. Plus the look on your face right now is the most beautiful I have ever seen."

"This is... Zane this is perfect. Thank you." It was better then every Christmas morning for the past ten years.

"Come on let's go inside and enjoy the show."

The ballet was enthralling to Jo. She was mesmerized by the dancers' skill and grace. Zane was simply mesmerized by Jo; he loved seeing things through her eyes. He may not be in love yet but with every moment he spent with Jo it became easier to see why other him had given her that ring.

***I made Jo Italian because Erica is**


	13. Chapter 13

**So my favorite couple is on vaca in Italy this is going to be another M chapter. So unless you are under 18 or don't like M stuff enjoy.  
>Still don't own anything just having fun and wasting time till the Christmas episode<strong>. **December 6****th**** people!**

Looking down he smirked at her. "I never do things half way when I am properly motivated. And making you happy is pretty good motivation."

Their limo pulled up to the curb and the driver popped out to open the door. Jo slid in and Zane followed telling the driver to take them back to the hotel.

"Have I told how handsome you are in a suit and tie?"

"No but you clean up very nice yourself. It's nice to see you in something different then those power suits or your old sheriff's uniform. You are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever known."

She scooted over to him and he pulled her onto his lap. "You do know how to charm the ladies."  
>"No," he shook his head. "You are the only one I would do any of this for; I need you to know that."<p>

She searched his face for any trace of teasing or sarcasm. There was none, he was completely serious. "I believe you. You need to know I've never done this type of traveling and frivolity with anyone in any time."

One of his hands came up to cup her cheek. "Jo," he took a deep breath, he had come to a huge realization and he needed to tell her before he lost his nerve or the moment. "Jo, I am in love with you."  
>That confession took her breath away. Catching her breath she smiled "I'm in love with you too Zane. You, you."<p>

Their lips met not with their normal passion but with a sweet tenderness as both tried to pour all of their feelings into each other. Before they had the chance to fully explore the new intimacy the expression of their feelings led them, the limo pulled up in front of their hotel.

Jo slid off Zane's lap and straightened her hair and dress before allowing Zane to help her out of the backseat.  
>He loved the fact that every once in a while she let down her guard enough to act female around him, letting him hold the door, or pull out a chair or let him lead when they went out dancing. Slowly over the course of this trip Jo had been allowing him to take more of the lead whether planning outings or in small and large physical gestures. They were both alpha personalities which is why (at least he thought why) they had clashed so violently in the past. But when one let go and let the other take the lead, magic happened, like tonight. He chanced another one of those small physical gestures and placed a hand at the small of her back.<p>

She leaned into as they walked toward the elevator. Once inside she let him pin her against the back wall and kissed him, passion building between them as the floors passed by. It wasn't often that she gave up control in anything, but a week of letting Zane take the lead was liberating. She wasn't going to stop being herself, the hard-nosed bad-ass enforcer but on occasion this arrangement would be nice.  
>The elevator dinged as it opened on the nineteenth floor. Tugging her hand he led her down the hall and swiped the key card.<p>

"I want to thank you for not just tonight but for this whole trip. It's the most fun I think I've ever had." Jo whispered as they crossed the threshold and her back once again found the wall.

His teeth nipped her earlobe and he whispered back "I would do just about anything to make you happy Josefina."

She loosened his tie and slid it off discarding it on the floor. "I can think of a couple things we could do that would make us both happy."

"I like the way you think." his fingers running through her hair as she tried to divest him of his jacket.  
>He shrugged it off and kicked off his shoes. She pushed off the wall and led him toward the bed.<p>

His fingers found the zipper of her dress, while hers nimbly undid the buttons of his shirt. He slid the dress off one shoulder as his lips traced her clavicle. Pushing off his shirt her fingers traced the muscles on his bare chest and back.  
>Applying a gentle pressure to the kisses he was giving her she moaned his name. Smiling he slipped her dress the rest of the way off leaving her in just lingerie and heels. "Do you even know how beautiful you are?"<br>Moving her hands to his waist band, "about as beautiful as you are handsome." Pants and boxers fell to the floor as Jo pushed him down onto the bed.

"We are a pretty hot couple Jo-Jo."

"Yes we are." She came down to the bed and straddled him. Feeling his growing need for her, she quickly shed her remaining clothing.

Zane flipped her onto her back, "I love you Jo." his whispered huskily as he entered her.  
>Her eyes were full of lust and need as she helped him find their rhythm. "Oh, I love, I love you too, oh Zane." Gaining momentum he felt her tighten around him. "Look at me Jo, I need to see you."<p>

Jo locked eyes with him and felt herself shatter screaming his name. Moments later he joined her in ecstasy. Resting his weight on her, he leaned his forehead down to hers, "you are amazing."

"You're not so bad yourself." She laughed as he rolled off her.

"Keep this up and you are never getting rid of me." he traced random patterns on her stomach.  
>"I'm not going anywhere, unless you're coming with me."<p>

"That sounds like a plan to me." Zane wrapped her in his arms and they fell asleep. After all they needed rest before round two.


	14. Chapter 14

**And now for the long awaited conclusion, Eureka, Jo, Zane and the rest of the cast still not mine.**

**Another Six months later**

Jo sauntered down the hall to Zane's section 4 lab. Pressing the security panel by the door she let herself in. "Good afternoon Dr. Donovan" she in her most sultry voice.

"Well Hello Security Chief Lupo. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" He gave her his patented Zane smile as he swiveled his chair in her direction. This was a game they played from time to time and it always had a happy ending.

She walked over and pulled him to his feet. "Tonight that honor is all about pleasure." She said purring.

"Really?" Zane moved into kiss her but she pulled back at the last minute.

"Yes, pleasure a whole weeks worth. Now we better head to the car before we miss our flight." She ducked behind him and started pushing him playfully towards the door.

"Chief Lupo, are you kidnapping me?" He teased.

"Well right now no but I am brining handcuffs so if you misbehave…" She pushed him a little more roughly.

"That is so hot Jo, you have no idea." He managed to shuffle around so that she was now beside him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "So I take it you arranged the time off with the boss man."

"Nope we are playing hooky." She had popped the p in nope as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Mmm even better." They were now in the parking lot and Zane noticed the luggage in the backseat. "So am I to assume you packed? I hope you were as nice about my wardrobe as I was when we went to Italy because I don't want to spend a week in some Speedo?"

"How about just plain swim trunks then?" Jo slid behind the wheel of the car.

"As long as we are going to be sitting on a beach somewhere and you are going to be in a bikini." His mind was already there.

Jo didn't say anything she just smiled.

"Wait, are we going to be on a beach? God Jo the thought of you in a bikini." He shifted in his seat, his pants suddenly becoming uncomfortably tight.

Her hand reached for something tucked into the visor, she handed the papers to Zane. "Six full days, seven nights on the island of Oahu, the bungalow comes with a private strip of beach. We are taking surfing lessons, which is nonnegotiable. And we are going scuba diving."

Zane had to pick his jaw up off the floor just to speak. "You are a goddess, you know that right?"

"I haven't even told you the best part," she gave him a seductive smile.

"There's a part better then this?" He swallowed hard wondering what else she could have up her sleeve.

"Two things actually," She licked her lips just to drive him insane. "First I bought way too many bikinis and I'm not sure but some of them may be too reveling." She let him digest that bit of news for a moment. "Secondly, I may have to model them for you in the room's private hot tube."

"It's official," Zane said a little breathlessly. "I am starting a new religion just to worship you. How the hell did I get so lucky?"

"You planned a fantasy trip to Italy. I'm just repaying the favor. Plus I love spending time outside of Eureka together." Jo placed a hand on his thigh.

"If we keep this up we won't have any place left to go for a honeymoon." Zane laced his fingers through hers.

Jo's heart felt like it stopped for a fraction of a second. Trying to sound calm she replied "Well a honeymoon implies a wedding and a wedding requires a proposal and an acceptance of said proposal. None of which we have."

"Ahh, not true, you did accept a Zane Donovan proposal. I remember that clearly, but don't worry _**I **_will ask properly, one day. I'm just trying to learn from my mistakes and give you fair warning, so that this time you will have an answer." He squeezed her hand.

Jo smiled. "Fair enough, if and when you ask I will be prepared to answer." She already knew it would be a yes. Life without Zane in it just wasn't fun or really all that happy.

"Oh there is no if Jo-Jo, just when." He let that sink in, he had known since Italy that one day he would ask her. A quick feel of his pocket let him know that the ring he had been carrying around for the last three weeks was there.

"In that case I have the perfect idea for a honeymoon and we better start training now." Jo teased.

"Oh so you assume the proposal will be soon then?" He teased back. She had no idea that this trip would give him the perfect opportunity to do just that.

"I assume nothing, but climbing Everest could take years of training. So we train, you pop the question in your own time."

"Everest, huh?" Let's climb the world's tallest mountain and she was just so cavalier about it too. He couldn't help the small bubble of laughter that escaped. This was so typical of what Jo would find fun and it sounded like a pretty good idea to him too. "Deal, now put the pedal to the metal. We need to get this vacation started and maybe we can join the mile high club."

Jo rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath "again?"

"What?" Zane had caught that. "Oh we were fun weren't we?"

"You have no idea, yet" she purred back. "The stories I could tell. But I think we will have more fun if I just show you."

Man he loved this woman. "I'm building a shrine to you in the basement when we get home."


End file.
